ANDOVER — When two friends entered a classroom in a rural area of India, near Chennai, they were offered chairs.
Instead, they chose to sit on mats with the students and soon a bond was born.
Janani Shanmugam, 16, a sophomore at Andover High School, and her friend, Shreya Gopal, 17, were in the country with Greater Love for Children, an NGO which provides education for orphaned children and families who can’t afford schooling. The pair’s mission was to promote student mental health awareness in a school where academics were mainly valued, according to Shanmugam. But the pair came away with much more.
Shanmugam’s parents grew up in Chennai and have been in the U.S. for about 20 years, and Shreya, who lives in Fairfax, Virginia, was originally from the Indian city.
“We noticed that students faced a tremendous amount of academic pressure and stress,” said Shanmugam.
In Indian schools, Shanmugam said there seems to be little emphasis on anything outside of the classroom. She said extracurriculars, like sports, are incredibly important in keeping students mentally healthy.
To promote awareness for student mental health, Shanmugam said the pair had students fill out a survey on the subject.
“We realized students don’t often have people to talk to about stress,” she said. “They don’t really have an outlet.”
During her time there, Shanmugam said she felt a bond grow with the students.
“Though Shreya and I had grown up in the U.S., interacting with the students felt natural and effortless. We realized at that moment that despite our different backgrounds, we were all peers,” she said.
Shanmugam said she also recognized some of the shortcomings with the culture and education of U.S. students. She said despite the strict focus on academics, students in Chennai were more social than her classmates at home.
“We did notice that students didn’t spend as much time on screens,” she said. “They do spend a lot of time interacting with one another.”
The students also faced more work, some of which seemed unnecessary, she said. She added even elementary students have “a lot” of homework — a “good and bad” thing.
The pair talked to roughly a dozen students, learning about who they are. Students in India also spend more time with their families than those in Andover.
“Which is a good thing,” she added.
She said the students in Chennai were well mannered and respectful.
“We had a lot of engaging conversations with them,” she said.
At home, Shanmugam participates in DECA and Key Club. She is also on the track and cross country team. DECA is a business club where students present about different companies; while the Key Club is a service club.
Outside of school, Shanmugam dances and is working on an app.
“I do my best to keep a balanced schedule,” she added. “Getting enough sleep.”
She said she hopes to spread the story of how the school is helping underprivileged children. Shanmugam said they have been asked to return there in the summer.
“We hope to continue working with them, learning more about what they do,” she said. “We’ll see where it goes from there.”